


Mixtape

by birdii (birdmint)



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2020-10-05 10:21:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20487317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birdmint/pseuds/birdii
Summary: 'Starving artists' Joohyun and Seulgi work at an airport coffee shop. Airport shops don't get regulars, and yet the same girl keeps coming to their cafe. Why is she in the airport so often? And why does Joohyun have to find her so cute? wenrene coffeeshop AU





	1. 1

“Hey unnie!” Seulgi called out, voice too chipper for the news she was about to deliver. “Your fave cut her hair!”

“Yah!” Joohyun exclaimed, though quieter than she usually would’ve, looking up from the bagels she was slicing to catch Seulgi’s gaze. She did her best to convey with only her eyes both that she wanted to know more, but also that maybe Seulgi shouldn’t scream about Joohyun’s embarrassing interest in the girl who had somehow become a regular at their airport location. Seulgi only grinned at Joohyun’s expression, tilting her head pointedly beyond the counter. Joohyun took this as her cue to abandon her bagels and wander over to the front of the shop.

Joohyun picked up a rag, idly running it over the counter as she scanned the storefront. She could see the girl across the terminal, bundled in a fluffy pink sweater. It was hard to see what Seulgi was talking about since the girl had her head turned, engrossed in a conversation she was having.

“I signed out,” Seulgi said, nudging her with an elbow. “Go to the register.”

“What?”

“It’s about time you actually spoke to her instead of just looking at her with your scary stare.” Seulgi pointed at the register. “Go on.”

Joohyun sighed; the girl was getting close and she didn’t want to be caught bickering with her friend. Instead, she put in her employee number quickly, rushing through the menus.

“Hello!”

Joohyun looked upwards at the now familiar friendly voice to get her first good look at the girl with her new haircut. However, she almost immediately looked back down, her heart pounding in her chest. Before, her girl had her hair long, paired with light brown contacts. Her beauty had been striking then, the contact color giving her an intimidating foreign feel until she smiled. However, her hair was now a deeper chestnut color and cut to skim her shoulder and frame the sharp outline of her jaw. Without the contacts, her eyes looked like a doe’s, glittering with the sunlight streaming in through the airport’s tall windows.

“Hello,” she murmured, casting her gaze somewhere vaguely between her monitor and the girl’s shoulder. “What would you like today?”

“Ah— um… a tea maybe…?” The girl fell into silence for a moment, and Joohyun finally dared looked up to find the girl with her hand over her mouth, frowning at the menu.

This time was easier, now that she was prepared. The word that kept coming to mind was ‘precious’. With this haircut, unlike the untouchable vibe she’d given off before, she looked soft and gentle like something you’d put in your pocket for safekeeping. Joohyun let her gaze settle on the girl’s face as she decided on her drink and occasionally muttered something that sounded like an apology.

“I think—” The girl’s eyes finally wandered down to Joohyun’s face, her voice abruptly cutting off as she found Joohyun looking at her. Joohyun barely noticed as their eyes met for a long moment before the girl coughed loudly, pounding on her chest as she leaned over to catch her breath. “Ah, sorry!” she choked out between coughs, “Sorry! I—”

“It’s alright, take your time,” Joohyun reassured her, lips pursing together as she watched the girl compose herself. She would’ve liked to help in some way, but she was stuck behind the counter with her hands pressing sharply into the marble.

“I… Sorry…” When she looked up again, the girl had a bright blush blooming across her pale cheeks. Joohyun caught her eye again for a second, but then found her gaze inexplicably drawn back down to her register. “Can I try the strawberry drink?”

“Which one?”

“Uh… The, uh… ‘pink drink’…? A grande… Is it really called that?”

“Yes…” She wanted to laugh at the girl’s confused tone, but found her throat was too tight. Instead, Joohyun settled for punching the order into the register with slightly more enthusiasm than normal. “That’s 4.95. Can I get a name for the order?” she squeaked out, reaching for a plastic cup.

“Oh, um, Seungwan.”

Joohyun, about to write already, stopped. “Seungwan-nim? Is that right?”

The girl nodded, fussing with the card reader. This was baffling for two reasons. First, Seungwan was typically a boy’s name. Secondly, Seulgi had said the girl’s name was ‘Wendy’ (Joohyun had shamefully asked after the second time the girl had come in and Seulgi had taken her order again). Joohyun was now doubly glad she hadn’t showed off her creepiness and wrote a name without asking.

“Alright; I’ll have your order ready for you in a moment.” Seulgi came from the stock room as Joohyun turned to the fridge to pull out ingredients for the drink. She took a deep breath to steady her trembling hands. It wouldn’t do to mess up such a simple order.

She heard Seungwan and Seulgi chatting as she mixed the drink. It sounded like Seungwan had brought something for Seulgi. It surprised her; she didn’t know they knew each other outside the café.

“So, I tried to keep a good mix of genres, but it’s pretty heavily American RnB, sorry!”

“That’s okay; I’m just amazed you even remembered! You’re always in the airport so I figured you must be really busy!” Seulgi was holding a CD in her hand. Joohyun could see neat handwriting on the front; it looked like a handmade mixtape.

Unlike when talking with Joohyun moments before, Seungwan was bubbly and bright without any of the stuttering. Joohyun wondered if she was really that scary, frowning as she brought the drink over to the counter. “Here you go.”

“Oh, thank you!” Seungwan’s eyes widened comically as she picked up the cup. “It’s so… uh…. Pink.” Seulgi laughed while Joohyun continued to frown with concern. “I mean, that’s not like a problem or anything. I guess it’s kinda stupid to expect anything otherwise, huh?” She took a sip and her entire face scrunched up such that Joohyun would’ve thought Seungwan hated the drink if it weren’t for her low hum of approval. “This is so good, thank you!”

“It’s our most popular drink right now,” Seulgi told her, and Seungwan nodded her head strongly in agreement.

“I can see why.” She took another sip, smiling brightly. “Let me know what you think about those songs, and maybe I’ll get a chance to put together another one. I’ll be back through here soon enough.”

“What can I do in return?”

“Make me one!” Seungwan’s grin to Seulgi still managed to stun Joohyun who wasn’t even the actual recipient. Thankfully, neither Seungwan nor Seulgi noticed, too busy talking to each other as she hovered behind her friend. “No, it’s okay, really. I enjoy this kind of thing! But I’d better go before I miss my flight. Thanks!” She waved at Seulgi, then caught Joohyun’s eye with a tiny nod and a tinier smile before wandering off towards the gates.

Joohyun’s eyes followed her even as she disappeared into a quickly forming crowd. “What’d she give you?”

“Last time we talked, Wendy-ssi was recommending me songs and she decided it was easier to just make a mixtape,” Seulgi said as she tucked the cd in the drawer beneath the counter.

“Her name is Wendy…?”

“Yeah? I already told you that…”

“She told me to put ‘Seungwan’ on her cup.”

“Weird…. It’s like she’s a secret agent.” Seulgi laughed, her eyes forming happy crescents. “The haircut’s cute, isn’t it?” Joohyun nodded, and Seulgi’s grin only widened. “Maybe one day you’ll even tell her your name.”

“I have a nametag for a reason.” Joohyun rammed into Seulgi with her shoulder. It might’ve had a bit more force than necessary, causing her friend to stumble to the side. Joohyun blamed Seulgi entirely for her miscalculation. “I’m going to finish the bagels now.”

She went back to her task, wondering why Seungwan—Wendy? -- had told Joohyun a different name. Which one was her real name? The question occupied her through the rest of her shift.

They saw her again two weeks later. Seulgi had already gone through Wendy’s mixtape and, after seeing it was work appropriate, had played it several times in the café. Joohyun hadn’t known what to expect but found that she really enjoyed the CD and even hummed along as she started recognizing the songs. She knew Seulgi had, in fact, put together a return mix CD, tucked away in the drawer under the register. Joohyun had come over that evening and lounged on the bed as Seulgi clicked through her music library. She’d even suggested a few songs.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to share a playlist on MelOn?” Joohyun had said when Seulgi wrestled with getting the cd to burn on one of the discs she had bought solely for this purpose. “It’s not like you even played the original CD.”

“But it’s like… the aesthetic of the thing. You can write on the CD and say why all the songs are there…” Seulgi shrugged, popping open her disc drive with a frown. “It’s special, for someone to have gone through all the effort of making something physical.”

“I see…” She kind of did, but mostly was enjoying watching Seulgi struggle with her computer.

“Did you even see the original CD? Here.” Seulgi flung the case at her—Joohyun suspected it was to make her pay attention to something else and stop snickering under her breath. However, once she saw the CD, she could understand the charm. Wendy’s handwriting was cute, although it looked as though she’d put a lot of effort into making it neat. There were small doodles by different songs, highlighting particular ones. Her favorite from the CD, Last Love by Red Velvet, was surrounded by little hearts.

“Are you going to draw on your CD too?” she asked, running her finger over the sharpied drawings.

“I probably won’t have enough room to write all the titles in! I’m amazed the CD will even fit this many songs…”

Now, Seulgi dug the CD she'd made out of the drawer, setting it next to the register that Joohyun was manning. “Make sure to remind me to give it to her, okay?”

“Of course,” Joohyun said with a pout. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was now invested in making sure it made its way into Wendy’s hands.

“Hi!” Today Wendy was in a white turtleneck that, although simple, made her look sweet, even angelic. Joohyun’s throat felt dry.

“Hello… Seungwan-nim.” She could feel her heartrate pick up as she said the girl’s name-- or at least, the name she’d given Joohyun. That was just what friendly baristas did, right? Especially when the person came by on a regular basis. (She never bothered to remember peoples’ names, but Wendy/Seungwan didn’t need to know that.)

Seungwan’s eyebrows raised in surprise, but she smiled. “I can’t believe you remembered my name! But, uh, I don’t know yours…?”

“Joohyun.”

“Joohyun-ssi…” Her eyebrows crinkled like she was trying out the taste of it. “It’s nice to meet you!”

Joohyun only nodded, not trusting herself to speak. However, she was saved by Seulgi who came out of the backroom with her arms full of napkins.

“Wendy-ssi!” She exclaimed, dumping the napkins on the back counter. “We loved the mixtape!”

“We?” Joohyun noticed that Seungwan’s eyes had the tendency to fly open wide whenever she was shocked.

“Unnie and I!” Seulgi slung an arm over Joohyun’s shoulder. “I played it a bit in the café. All the songs are so good!”

“Whew!” Seungwan let out an exaggerated sigh. “I was hoping you’d like it, but I wasn’t sure…”

“No, it’s great! And I made one just as promised!” Seungwan’s entire face lit up as Seulgi plucked the CD case from under Joohyun’s arm and handed it over. “Unnie even helped me out!”

“Wow, oh my god! I’ll listen to it as soon as I get back to my computer!” From anyone else, the enthusiasm would’ve sounded fake, but there was something in the way Seungwan made sure to catch both of their eyes that spoke to her genuine joy at having received a gift from her regular baristas, absurd as it was.

“Now tell me what you want so unnie can ring you up!” Seulgi exclaimed, breaking the moment. She took Seungwan’s order, bustling off and leaving Joohyun alone with the other girl.

“I did really like it,” Joohyun managed to mumble after she’d rung Seungwan up. It didn’t seem polite to only express her appreciation through Seulgi.

“I really wasn’t sure if anyone would… I lived in the US when I was growing up, so a lot of the songs I listen to are pretty unfamiliar here…” As she spoke, the other girl was looking down at her hands which were drumming against the counter. It was definitely Joohyun’s presence bringing out this side of Seungwan, compared to her easy cheeriness when speaking with Seulgi. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen this behavior at the counter, but while usually she wished customers would speak up then move aside, she found herself frustrated and relieved by turns. She’d like for Seungwan to look at her, but it also made it easier for her to speak without the other girl’s gaze on her.

“I actually liked one of the Korean songs best,” Joohyun admitted. “The one called ‘Last Love’…?”

“Really?” Seungwan sounded so shocked that Joohyun looked up. “I mean—I guess it’d be the most familiar…”

“I liked the singing the best. The vocals are so beautiful…” Joohyun couldn’t make sense of the blush she saw on the other girl’s cheeks. “I was thinking I should look up more things by the group.”

“Oh, I mean, they do a lot of different genres! I don’t think that they have any other songs that sound like that—”

“Here’s your tea!” Seulgi interrupted, placing the drink on the counter. Joohyun _didn’t_ sigh at her friend for doing her job. “Please have a safe trip!”

“Thankfully I’m on my way home,” Seungwan chuckled, taking her drink. “Thank you so much!”

“Have a good day,” Joohyun blurted out as Seungwan turned to leave with a wave, remembering last time when she hadn’t managed to say anything.

Seungwan paused for a moment, nodding. “You too.”

She was left in peace to watch Seungwan walk off, joining the group of people she always seemed to be traveling with. However, she received an elbow to her side the moment the short haired girl disappeared out of sight.

“You’ve got it bad for her, huh.”

“Go away.” She shoved Seulgi towards the mess she’d made with the napkin packages, but also sighed. She had a feeling Seulgi was right.


	2. blue ink

When they first started seeing Wendy, Joohyun and Seulgi had figured she’d eventually stop passing through. However, it’d been a few months by the time they had exchanged CDs and she kept stopping in. Sometimes they’d see her six to eight times in a month, sometimes they wouldn’t see her at all. They’d make guesses as to what her job was, seeing as Wendy traveled frequently and always looked flawlessly put together.

“She’s probably a model,” Seulgi had said. “You don’t look like that and not be a model. Present company excluded.”

Joohyun had simply shrugged off the comment. She had never seen what others saw in her, but she and Seulgi both—despite the other girl having excluded herself from model status—had warded off enough pickup lines at their counter. “I bet she owns a business or something,” was her theory, ignoring Seulgi’s teasing that her guess was too boring.

Regardless, as long as she wasn’t late for her plane, Wendy would stop by and chat with them for a few moments. Joohyun had finally wrestled her crush under control, able to talk to Seungwan without her stomach doing flips even if she didn’t quite stop being mesmerized by her beauty. Worse, even as she got used to Wendy’s looks, she was falling more and more for her warm personality instead. Last time, Wendy had even dropped off a box of Japanese sweets for her and Seulgi to share.

However, they hadn’t seen her for a few months, long enough for Seulgi to finally pick up work as a photographer and have to drop the midday shifts she’d shared with Joohyun. She’d begun to believe that Wendy would no longer pass through the airport by the time Wendy appeared with two wrapped boxes in hand.

Wendy had by then shed the stammering reserve from their earlier meetings, a bright expression settling easily on her features where it belonged. “Joohyun-ssi! It’s been so long!”

“It has.” She smiled without thinking. “How’ve you been?”

“Busy! So busy, but it’s about to get busier!” Seungwan craned her head to look behind Joohyun. “Is Seulgi-ah here? I brought a gift!”

“Oh, you really don’t have to…”

“But I haven’t been by in ages! The purple one is for you!” She slid the box across the counter, and Joohyun toyed with the pretty ribbon on top. “The orange one is for her.”

“Thank you so much… Seulgi is at her other job now, but I can give this to her for you.”

“She finally found photography work? Tell her congratulations for me! I’m so happy for her!”

“I’ll be sure to do so.” Joohyun tucked the packages under the counter to keep them safe. “She probably won’t be back during the day again. We’re hoping she’ll keep picking up work.”

“I do too, even if I’ll miss her. Wow…”

Joohyun got Wendy’s order, waving her away when she tried to pay. The least she could do was use her drink credit for the shift on Seungwan. The other girl followed her over to the other side of the counter, chatting about her trip where she had picked up the souvenirs in the boxes. Even though the other girl was prone to rambling, she never spilled any hint of what her job was, only describing the beach and the restaurants she visited. Joohyun wished she’d say more.

“Here’s your drink.” Joohyun finally placed the iced chai on the counter. If she let Seungwan talk for too long, someone would come over and scold the girl. As much as she enjoyed listening to Seungwan’s stories, she knew she couldn’t hold her up for too long. “Have a safe trip.”

Seungwan picked up her drink, but paused before leaving, setting her drink back down and digging in her purse. She pulled out a pen and a scrap piece of paper. “Um…. Maybe this is kind of weird, but it makes me sad to think I only see you and Seulgi-ssi at the airport, and…” She scribbled something on the scrap piece of paper and passed it over to Joohyun. It was a phone number. “Maybe pass it on to Seulgi-ssi too, if that’s not too creepy?”

“No, that’s okay.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say; her mind blanked out upon seeing the numbers in stark blue ink.

“Have a good rest of your day, okay Joohyun-ssi?”

“You don’t have to use -ssi,” she said without thinking.

“Oh.” Seungwan’s eyes went wide and Joohyun was struck by how endearing the reaction was. “Uhm… I’m 24…”

“Then it seems like I’m your unnie.”

“Then enjoy your day, Joohyun unnie!” Joohyun was too dazed to do more than wave at Seungwan’s bright farewell, clutching the precious number tightly in her fist.

That night she called Seulgi, telling her about the encounter and passing on the phone number as directed. She’d opened the box to find a beautifully lacquered hair clip in a deep violet alongside a small bag of candies. There was also a keychain with a cute bunny figure that she immediately clipped onto her everyday bag. She imagined the orange box still on her desk held something similar.

“I don’t know if I should text her. Would that be weird?” Joohyun was complaining, lying on her bed and staring at the ceiling.

“I know you have a big crush on her, but you don’t have to play the waiting game. If you want to talk to Wendy-ssi, then text her. If you don’t, don’t,” Seulgi said firmly. “She gave us her number, so she obviously wants you to. Besides, you should thank her for the gift.”

Sometimes Joohyun really wondered whether Seulgi was actually three years her junior. The younger girl’s common sensical view on life never failed to ground her.

“I was going to thank her in person, but alright.”

“That’s right, unnie. I’ve got an early day tomorrow, so I’m going to go, alright?”

“Good night.”

“Good night!”

Joohyun hung up then stared at her phone for a long moment. Her heart pounding in her chest, she finally took a deep breath and opened up her texting app.

**Joohyun**: Hello, this is Joohyun from the café. I just wanted to thank you for the present. The hair clip is so beautiful! I also gave your number to Seulgi, so you’ll probably hear from her soon.

The answer came back faster than she expected.

**Seungwan-ssi**: Hi! 😃 😃 😃 I’m so glad you liked it! I saw it and I thought of you for some reason

**Joohyun:** I appreciate it! I’ll probably give Seulgi her gift tomorrow. I didn’t get to see her today.

**Seungwan-ssi:** That’s alright! I meant to make another CD too but I didn’t have time 😭 I’ve been so busy

**Joohyun:** Please don’t worry about it!

**Seungwan-ssi:** Next time though 🎵 I’m going to be traveling a lot again eventually, so it’ll give me something to do on the plane

**Joohyun:** What is it that you do, if it’s okay for me to ask?

Seungwan had been replying rather quickly, but this time the dots indicating that someone was typing didn’t appear as fast as before. Joohyun worried that she’d been too forward. She let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding when Seungwan finally responded again.

**Seungwan-ssi:** Sorry, I’m dozing off—jetlag 😰 I’ll talk to you soon, though?

**Joohyun:** No worries. Please rest well!

**Seungwan-ssi:** Thank you!! Goodnight!! 🌜 💤 😴

**Joohyun:** Good night

Apparently, she hadn't scared Seungwan off with her question as she received a message the next day around lunch. She didn’t try asking what Seungwan’s job was again, too afraid to risk it. She told Seulgi when she delivered the gift before their shift—Seulgi had received a similar gift, but with an orange hair clip.

“See, I told you it was a good idea to text,” Seulgi said with a grin.

“But what do I talk about now?” Joohyun asked as Seulgi fussed with her hair.

“Whatever you’d like!” Seulgi had managed to pin the clip to her liking, assessing the effect in the mirror. “Just talk about whatever.”

“But I’m not good at that sort of thing,” she complained. Of course Seulgi, easy going Seulgi with endless interesting hobbies and skills, would find texting with a virtual stranger easy.

“But you always chat with Wendy just fine when she’s in the café.”

“Because she guides the conversations! And it’s only until her drink is done!”

“What did she text you?”

“Well… she sent a picture of her lunch.”

“So send a picture of a cute drink you made, or a picture of your dinner. Then ask her what her favorite food is or something! Don’t worry so much; I’m sure Wendy would be interested in whatever you have to chat about.”

Joohyun sighed but didn’t bother trying to argue the point further. “It’s time for us to go.”

“We kinda look like twins,” Seulgi pointed out, gesturing for her to look in the mirror. With both of them in their all black work clothes and matching clips in their hair, she had a point. “It’s cute!”

Joohyun shook her head, tugging her friend away from the mirror with a smile. “C’mon Kkang Sseul.”

**Seungwan-ssi:**

**Seungwan-ssi:** I missed Korean food so much!! ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

**Joohyun:**

**Joohyun:** We have strawberry drinks back in

**Joohyun:** Not that I’m saying you need to stop in and have one, but I thought this drink I made today for a customer looked really tasty

**Joohyun:** Did you make that yourself?

**Seungwan-ssi:** Yeah! I love cooking but I rarely get a chance because it takes me so long ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Worth it for tteobokki!!!

**Seungwan-ssi:** Wow that does look good 😍 Tell me how it is so I know if I should order it next time!

“You’re swooning, Bae Joohyun.”

Joohyun jumped, looking up from her phone to find Seulgi grinned. “That’s no way to talk to your unnie!” she scolded, swatting at the younger girl. But Seulgi dodged the clumsy swing easily, moving around her to continue wiping up the counter.

“If anything, I should be scolding you for being on your phone during work.” But Joohyun knew Seulgi wouldn’t. Regardless, she tucked her phone away with a sigh and picked up a rag to join Seulgi in cleaning.

“Unnie…” Joohyun didn’t like the placating tone of voice. “It’s been more than a half a year. Why don’t you just ask her out?”

Joohyun sputtered. “I—what?”

“Just ask her out. To like dinner, or like… Well, not coffee, huh.” Somehow, Seulgi looked serious about what she said, like asking out Wendy wasn’t an impossibility.

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

Wasn’t the answer obvious? “I’m a barista and she’s like…” Joohyun vaguely gestured at the air.

“A businesswoman?” Seulgi shrugged. “That just means rich gf.”

“Oh my god, Kang Seulgi I’m not looking for a sugar momma!”

“What’s a sugar momma?”

“Um.” Joohyun could only stare at Seulgi in horror, regretting her response more with each passing second. Thankfully, the other girl only lasted a few seconds before her innocent poker face broke into loud laughter.

“I know what it is. I’m surprised you know what it is.” Seulgi wiped tears from her eyes. “But seriously, unnie. Just ask. It’s Wendy. No big deal.”

“But what if she says no?”

“Then you never have to wonder what would’ve happened. C’mon unnie; I’ve been watching your crush for ages now.”

“I’ll… think about it.”

“Good!” Seulgi clasped her shoulder enthusiastically. “Just do it soon; I’m not ready for a new era of you sighing over Wendy on your phone.” It earned Seulgi another slap on the arm that the other girl only laughed off.

What had happened? Joohyun used to be intimidating to the younger girl one point. Now, she could only glare ineffectively as Seulgi simply beamed back at her, looking blissfully content with her advice giving.

\---

Wendy had passed on her number just in time; they didn’t see her at all the next month. Thankfully, Wendy was easy to talk to despite how much Joohyun had fretted. While slow to initially respond, Joohyun found that Wendy was happy enough to ramble on endlessly. She could imagine it’d be annoying to some, but the long paragraphs filled with emojis made her smile.

She still hadn’t asked Wendy out, much to Seulgi’s displeasure, but the semi-regular conversations felt like enough (almost).

**Seungwan 🐨:** You’re a dance student? 😲😲😲⁉️

**Seungwan 🐨:** Can I see?

**Joohyun:** I guess I do have a practice video…

**Seungwan 🐨:** Please unnie? 🥺

Joohyun stared at her phone, frowning. She really couldn’t say no to that.

**Joohyun:** Here…

**Joohyun:** <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPk_ctukMdw>

There was a few minutes’ pause, and she found herself chewing on her lip. Was Wendy watching it? Did she think it was good? She had to remind herself that the video itself was almost two minutes long. Even so, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief when she saw the typing notification pop up on the screen.

**Seungwan 🐨:** oh my god?

**Seungwan 🐨:** oh my god??? 😮

**Seungwan 🐨:** you’re so pretty

**Seungwan 🐨:** Your dancing is so pretty

**Seungwan 🐨:** W O W

Did Wendy call her pretty? She could feel her cheeks growing warm as she typed in her far too blasé response to Wendy’s. Compliments.

**Joohyun:** Thank you

**Seungwan 🐨:** Seriously though, I could watch this on repeat 😍 🥰

**Seungwan 🐨:** Have you ever considered being an idol?

**Joohyun:** I auditioned once, but I didn’t get in

**Joohyun:** But I liked the idea of performing the more I thought about it, so I ended up studying dance instead.

**Seungwan 🐨:** Woooow!!!! 😲

Joohyun’s fingers trembled slightly as she typed her next text.

**Joohyun:** What about you? Do you have any secret talents to show me?

**Joohyun:** A video for a video.

**Joohyun:** 😀

**Seungwan 🐨:** Hm….

**Seungwan 🐨:** I guess I have a video of me singing

**Seungwan 🐨:** Um….

**Seungwan 🐨:** I hope this video isn’t too big 😥

**Seungwan 🐨:**

[ ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1HXlPTGBEA)

**Seungwan 🐨:** It’s just a small video, and it’s not very good. I don’t like taking videos of myself because it’s so embarrassing!!

**Seungwan 🐨:** 😳 😳 😳

She hadn’t expected anything in response to her request. In fact, she’d been entirely ready to play it off as a joke. But her boldness had paid off in the form of a small clip of Wendy engulfed in the cutest purple sweater. Her hair was longer and a different color entirely, so Joohyun assumed that it had to be an old video. Maybe when she was still in college—she couldn’t imagine that Wendy could have that reddish hair color wherever she worked now.

It didn’t really matter whether or not Wendy sang well or not; she already was happy enough to have gotten a video at all. However, there was no need for any concern on her part.

In the video, Wendy was singing to an IU song. From the recording quality, it seemed off the cuff. She wasn’t even singing along to a karaoke track, but what seemed like the original song played off another phone in the background.

Regardless, Joohyun was entirely entranced. Wendy’s voice was smooth and soulful, even when directly next to IU’s. When the clip ended, she immediately hit play a second time.

**Seungwan 🐨:** So…. What do you think? 😳

**Joohyun:** You asked me if I was an idol…

**Joohyun:** Are you sure you aren’t?

**Seungwan 🐨:** hahaha 😳 😳 😳

**Joohyun:** Where did you learn to sing??

**Seungwan 🐨:** I mean, I did choir and theater in high school…

**Seungwan 🐨:** it’s just kind of my passion, I guess

**Seungwan 🐨:** thank you 👉 👈

**Seungwan 🐨:** 😁 😁

**Joohyun:** I’m amazed

**Joohyun:** Your voice is so beautiful

**Joohyun:** If you sold music, I’d buy it

**Seungwan 🐨:** 😳 😳 😳

**Seungwan 🐨:** hahaha! Thank you!!!! 🙇♀️ I really appreciate it!!

**Seungwan 🐨:** Well, I gotta go. I have a super long day tomorrow 😭

**Seungwan 🐨:** Have a good night!!! Sleep well! 😴 🌙 ⭐️ I hope the café is quiet and smooth for you!

**Joohyun:** Thanks

**Joohyun:** Sleep well

**Seungwan 🐨:** And if you have any more dance videos

**Seungwan 🐨:** I’d love to see them sometime, if you don’t mind 😮

**Seungwan 🐨:** 💃 💃 💕

**Joohyun:** Of course :)

Joohyun scrolled up to the video and replayed it. Something about Wendy’s voice seemed to ring familiar for her, but she couldn’t quite place a finger to what it was. She played back the video a fourth time, but whatever connection her brain was trying to make remained elusive. She chalked it up to the fact that Wendy simply had a startlingly good voice. It could be that she was thinking of literally any other good singer, honestly. It was really a shame it was only a small clip of the song.

…Would it be weird if she saved the audio outside of the messages app?

She ended up guiltily saving the video to her phone storage. It was just a short singing video that had been willingly sent to her, and yet for some reason she felt like a thief.

(Perhaps it was because she didn’t want to think about what it meant, that her heart grew warm seeing the video among her photos.)


	3. purple case

Seungwan 🐨: Hey! I’m finally flying out again ✈️✈️✈️

Seungwan 🐨: I should get to see you guys later—is Seulgi in this afternoon? 😁😁

Joohyun: No, she isn’t ☹️

Seungwan 🐨: Aw, too bad 😭 One of these days!!

Seungwan 🐨: I’ve got a down moment—we’re waiting for everyone to finish loading things up. Wanna facetime?

Of course.

She accepted the notification as it came up, getting a blurry picture of Wendy before the video went out.

“Ah—Wait! Hold on…” The video blinked back into Wendy’s wide-eyed expression, her mouth in an ‘o’ as she fiddled with the device. “Oh, there we go! Hi unnie!”

Joohyun couldn’t help but smile at Wendy’s bright expression. “Hi.” Today, Wendy was in a red gingham cardigan that looked too casual for business wear. Not that she would know; she was still a barista slash student after all. But she was beginning to think Seulgi might’ve been right with her guess that Wendy was a model. “Your hair looks lighter; did you dye it?”

Wendy laughed, flipping her hair with a dramatic wave of her wrist. “Do you like it?”

“It’s very… cute. Very cutesy.” Joohyun did her best to maintain a straight face. She couldn’t help but think that calling Wendy ‘cute’ sounded like a confession coming off of her lips.

“It kinda is, isn’t it?” She toyed with a strand, her eyes straining to look at the short strand in her fingers. “My hair’s been dyed so many colors, I didn’t really think about it.”

“Oh really?” Another point in the model column. “What’s the weirdest color?”

“Well…” She cupped her chin with a hand. Apparently, she’d had many. “Well, I’ve been entirely blonde a few times… But… Oh!” She pointed at the camera with a sharp motion as the thought came. “I had my hair plum this winter. A really deep purple. That probably tops the red, I think.”

“Do you have pictures?”

Wendy shook her head with an exaggerated pout. “I’m not much of a selfie person.”

“You’re telling me your hair was purple, but you have no pictures?”

“Nope, sorry. I know purple’s your favorite color,” she teased. Joohyun scrunched her face into a frown to hide how elated the fact that Wendy remembered made her.

“Seungwan-ssi!” A faint voice called from Wendy’s end. She looked behind her with a real pout this time.

“Looks like we’re ready to go. Are you at work already?”

“Yeah; it’s quiet so far. I ducked into the back for a second when I saw the notification,” she confessed.

“Rebel Joohyun!" She laughed at her own joke, and Joohyun pretended like she was unamused. "See you soon!” With a quick wave, the connection was cut. Joohyun couldn’t help the smile on her face as she made lattes for the next hour.

She spotted Wendy’s sweater from across the terminal. There were plenty of people snapping pictures, but Joohyun was used to the sight by now. They remained outside of the café, so she didn’t mind.

“Unnie!” Wendy called with a wave as she stepped inside.

“Look who’s finally here in person.”

“Look, I try.” But she was smiling too. Joohyun was right; the lighter honey brown was more of a sweet style than the more chic or boyish styles she’d seen the other girl in before. However, between the sparkle in her eye and the way the airport’s light never failed to make her glow, Joohyun thought it suited her just as well. (It couldn’t just be her obvious bias for Wendy…)

“Hey, so guess what I remembered?” Wendy said with a grin.

“What you’re going to order?”

“You distracted me!” Wendy squawked, and Joohyun burst into a laugh.

“By… existing?” It had been during Wendy’s last trip through the airport. She had stumbled in, looking worn out despite it being late afternoon. She had opened her mouth to speak, but never managed to say anything after she looked down from the menu to Joohyun’s face. Joohyun eventually had to prompt her to speak, which had only led her to admit that she’d forgotten entirely. Joohyun had pressed a latte with an extra shot into her hand and sent her off with admonishments to go to bed early that night.

“I…” Wendy shut her mouth with a click of her teeth. “Noooo, but I’d like a chai today, I think? No, I remembered…” She rummaged through her bag to pull out two jewel cases, one purple and one yellow. “Mixtape version two!”

“Mixtape two?” Joohyun exclaimed.

“After all these months, it finally exists.” Wendy held them out in front of her in both hands, bowing deeply over the counter. “I sincerely apologize for the long wait.”

Wendy had to stand back up straight and set the CDs on the counter because Joohyun was laughing too hard to take them.

“Ah, these are cute,” she said as the last of her giggles subsided, peering at the handwritten track list. “My laptop doesn’t take CDs, though.”

“Oh, I didn’t even think about that! Should I make a playlist, or something?”

Joohyun waved her comment away. “It’s fine; I can do it. You’re too busy.”

“I’m not that busy—”

“Large iced chai? Hot?”

“Iced,” Seungwan grumbled, but let Joohyun override her.

She made the drink quickly; it was simple, and she’d already kept the other girl too long. She could see Wendy’s usual entourage growing antsy outside the door. Wendy apparently noticed as well, following Joohyun’s gaze and biting her lip.

“Could you put together like… 4 more of those, actually? I should treat my staff for waiting for me.”

“Sure.” It wasn’t the first time Wendy had done it, and since it was Wendy, she wouldn’t complain even if it were four more special order lattes. She appreciated the extra minutes in person, even if they did text fairly frequently as of late.

As she put together the second order, she managed to find out that Wendy was on her way to Indonesia—“Indonesia?” “Yeah; I’m so lucky to get to go to so many cool places”—before she loaded a drink tray up and sent her away.

“Have a safe flight!”

“You t— I mean, have a good shift!” Joohyun had one final laugh as Wendy did a double take at herself before leaving the café.

Seulgi came in for her shift later that evening; Joohyun handed over the yellow case as she walked in.

“Missed her again, huh?” she said as she took the case, looking over the tracks. “The songs I recognize on here are pretty good. Think I can risk putting it on?”

Joohyun shrugged. “Do it anyways. Over half the songs are in English anyways.”

“We’re an international airport. There’ll be English speakers who’ll be able to tell if it’s inappropriate before we can,” Seulgi reminded her, but grinned. “If I’d brought in a CD, you’d be scolding me.” When Joohyun only rolled her eyes, Seulgi waved the CD at her gleefully before popping in the back to override the standard playlist.

The shift was fairly slow with both of them on the clock. Most of the time they spent chatting, taking care of overdue cleaning tasks, following along with the track list on Joohyun’s CD. As expected, the choices were excellent, and their shift went by faster than usual.

“I really liked that song.”

“Let’s see…” Joohyun was scrubbing out the back of a low cabinet, so Seulgi dropped her rag (which missed the counter and fell dangerously close to Joohyun’s face) to go look up the song. “It’s ‘Light Me Up’ by Red Velvet.”

“Red Velvet…” Joohyun crawled out of the cabinet, settling back on her heels. “That’s the group I liked last time.”

“Yeah I remember. Did you ever look up any more music by them?”

“No, I forgot…”

“There’s a second song by them on the CD too. I guess Wendy likes them.” Seulgi set down the case and pulled out her phone. “Let me take a look.”

“Remember the counter?”

“It can wait five minutes.”

Joohyun huffed, but without any real anger. It wasn’t like the counter was actually important. Or even anything they were doing that night, honestly. Mostly, she was just bored.

Leaving Seulgi to her own devices, she returned to scrubbing out the cabinet. The bottom was covered in coffee spills and bits of sugar; it had desperately needed a good wipe down.

“Hey unnie?” Seulgi’s voice sounded a bit… off.

“Yeah? Did you find them?”

“I… um…” Seulgi sounded stunned. “You should come here.”

“Give me a second.” She finished up the cabinet, loading everything back inside. She didn’t hear customers, so she took a moment to wash her hands as well. By the time she turned back to Seulgi, the other girl was fidgeting anxiously. “What is it…?”

“I…” Seulgi looked down at her phone, then back up at her before just holding the device out. “I don’t think you’d believe it from me.”

“What do you mean…?” Joohyun took the phone and looked down to the search page pulled up.

‘Red Velvet’ was in the search bar, and the very first result was the singer ‘Red Velvet’ with member… ‘Wendy’. And the picture attached was Seungwan, dressed in a blue gingham dress and staring over her shoulder with a smile like the sun.

In a daze, she tapped on Wendy’s name, pulling up an information page. By this point, Seulgi had moved to peer over her shoulder as they scrolled together.

“So, it’s her stage name…”

“That means she gave me her real name that day,” Joohyun mused.

“Makes more sense that her being a spy,” Seulgi laughed. “But really… wow. Then that was her singing…?”

“Let me just—” Joohyun dipped into the back, flipping through the tracks to pull up the Red Velvet track again. The song hit differently with the knowledge that it was their friend behind the track’s rich vocals.

“Wow,” Seulgi said as the song ended, and Joohyun had to agree.

In between making drinks, they delved into their search on Red Velvet, cleaning tasks forgotten. At one point, Seulgi pulled the mixtape to put on a playlist of Red Velvet songs. They got a few appreciative smiles from customers, and Joohyun wondered why she hadn’t known about Red Velvet before.

The songs switched back and forth from RnB to a more upbeat cheerful vibe without seeming to favor either. Joohyun could see why Wendy had tried to warn her that there might not be another song like ‘Last Love’. (And in retrospect, she imagined Wendy might’ve been trying to keep her from realizing who she was…) But despite the unexpected variety, Joohyun was enjoying herself.

At one point, ‘Red Flavor’ played, and even Joohyun recognized the catchy song that had been playing everywhere two years ago. Seulgi sang along as she wiped coffee from the counter.

“So… Do we tell her?” Seulgi asked when their shift ended, and they had closed up the café for the night.

“I mean, we have to, right?” Joohyun replied with a frown. “I don’t think it’d be right otherwise…” She couldn’t imagine how the conversation would go, but it felt wrong to pretend like they weren’t aware of Wendy’s identity.

“Yeah.” Seulgi looked down to the phone in her hand. “Now?”

Joohyun shook her head. “It’s late. And honestly… I want a chance to think it over. It’s… a lot.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m just so…” Joohyun looked over to see Seulgi looking at as much of a loss for words as she was.

“Tomorrow,” she said, and Seulgi nodded.

“Tomorrow,” Seulgi agreed. “I’ll see you Friday!”

“Get a good rest!”

That night, Joohyun did more searching of her own. From not having a clue that morning and casually facetiming Wendy that morning, she was now bombarded with media. Official MVs, fan cams, interviews, compilations… It was overwhelming that the girl who so sweetly teased Joohyun in oversized sweaters and flannels could also be the girl in leather performing ‘Bad Boy’ on stage in front of thousands of people. (And Joohyun didn’t want to think too hard about some of the comments underneath.)

It was early morning before Joohyun even realized. With a groan at her laptop reading ‘4:02 am’, she finally started closing out browser windows, her head spinning. Before she went to bed, however, she remembered to find a picture of Wendy with the purple hair. The hair color was as good on Wendy as she had imagined.

Joohyun went through her shift the next day in a haze, caffeine only managing to cut through the sleep deprivation. It did nothing for her brain getting stuck on their revelation from the previous day. Once she was able to hand off the café to the next shift, she found a quiet corner of the airport and texted Wendy.

Joohyun: Hey Wendy, can we facetime? I have something important to talk to you about.

Rather than a text response, the facetime request popped up almost immediately. Joohyun answered it with trembling fingers. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as the app loaded in the video stream. It was just Wendy still; Joohyun didn’t know what to say yet, but there was really no need to be so nervous…

The small rectangle representing her loaded in fine, but Wendy’s remained a black screen; Wendy must’ve turned off the camera. “H-hello?”

“Hi unnie,” came the familiar voice. It was no different than the day before. She sounded more serious, but that was likely due to Joohyun’s text. “What’s up?”

Joohyun swallowed. There was probably no perfect way to start, so she went with the simplest she could think of. “So, you know how you gave Seulgi and I the mixtape yesterday? And there was Red Velvet songs on it?”

“Ah.” It was a simple, flat ‘ah’. Joohyun couldn’t make anything of it but pressed on anyways.

“We liked the songs, so we decided to look the group up…”

“Oh, I see…” Joohyun heard Wendy sigh, but she continued in a more chipper tone than Joohyun had expected. “I guess I was playing with fire, including them on the CD, huh?”

“Is this the mysterious unnie?” A voice Joohyun didn’t recognize spoke loudly, and she jumped in surprise.

“Maybe…?”

“Maybe? Just turn on the camera, unnie. There’s no need to leave it off anymore, it sounds like to me.” The voice grew louder as it ostensibly addressed Joohyun. “You’re not going to take screenshots, are you?”

“No…?” Joohyun frowned, and she heard the voice laugh.

“Too bad; maybe then people would get to see my work up close because someone won’t post selcas to the official Instagram.”

“Ugh, leave off, Joy.” The video flickered on, and Joohyun saw Wendy sitting in a chair as another girl peered over her shoulder.

“She’s pretty cute, though. What’s her name?” The girl, presumably ‘Joy’ turned to Wendy with a wide grin, but Wendy just shoved her face away.

“It’s ‘unnie’ to you.” Wendy rolled her eyes, but her expression was fond. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Joohyun said, suddenly feeling shy. “You look… pretty.”

“Someone appreciates my work, thank you!” Joy shouted off screen.

“Thanks.”

“Is this a bad time? It looks like you’re getting ready for something…”

“No, I mean. I’m just going to be sitting here while Joy finishes up my makeup.”

“You’re going to sit quietly while I put on your lip color.” Joy came back in view, a brush in one hand and three lipstick tubes between the fingers of her other hand. “If you want to have a serious conversation, you’re going to have to wait until after I’m done.”

Wendy didn’t get a chance to reply, Joy starting in immediately. Joohyun apologized for the both of them with a quick ‘sorry’.

“You managed to catch Wendy right before a performance,” Joy told her. She didn’t look away from Wendy’s lips, carefully applying shades of red. Joohyun did her best to do the opposite. “She’s gotta be on stage in, what, 30 minutes?”

Wendy nodded carefully, trying not to nudge Joy’s hand.

“So if you’re going to talk, make it quick. But in the meantime, I want to know about ‘mysterious unnie’.” Joy turned to give the phone Wendy was holding another bright, sharp grin. “Unnie won’t tell me anything, but then still whines to me—”

“Sooyoung!”

The younger girl cackled. “You’re way too easy to tease. Now hold still a sec—” Joohyun watched Joy lean in to swipe a third color onto Wendy’s lips before nodding in approval. “Okay, now let me see that.”

The video jostled and for a moment, Joohyun got a startlingly close view of Joy’s face before the camera flipped to show Wendy sitting in her makeup chair with a frown.

“C’mon, Joy. Really?”

“Yes, now model for me. Show unnie your pretty performance outfit.”

“It’s okay…” Joohyun said, but Wendy just shook her head and stood up.

“Head up, chest out—this shirt is kind of hideous actually.” Joohyun snorted at Joy’s obvious distaste.

“I dunno, I kinda like it. It has these ribbons on the sleeves.”

“Zoom in on sleeve ribbons.” The camera got dizzyingly close to the ribbon Wendy was toying with. Mostly what Joohyun saw was white as the camera failed to adjust before Joy pulled it away. “And there’s this cute floral skirt.” Wendy played along, framing it with her hands as Joy panned the camera down. “Oh and the boots. Probably the best part of this outfit, to be honest. Man, I miss RBB era.”

“Zimzalabim is fun though!” Wendy protested.

“Let’s be real, Zimzalabim works because SM managed to find the vocals to power it.” The camera panned back up to Wendy’s blank stare, and Joy laughed, the camera shaking with her. “No, it’s good. They love it, I love it, and you kill it. I do hate the outfits though. Anyways, go have your five minutes before someone chases you down.”

“Thanks, Joy.” It seemed like the phone made it back into Wendy’s hands; she saw Joy for a few minutes before the camera flipped to show Wendy's face again.

“Love you too!” Wendy just smiled and waved over her shoulder as she left the room.

“Okay, so let’s hope…” She watched Wendy duck her head into a room before walking in. “No one’s in here, but Joy’s right about the ‘five minutes part’. Actually, we’d probably be lucky for a full five minutes…”

Wendy seemed to have entered into some kind of break room. She passed by a table covered with bottled water and food. Most notable was a large decorated cake and a banner with Wendy’s face on it. Somehow, that more than anything drove home the point that this was real and not some weird dream.

“So, was there anything else in particular?” Wendy looked back at the camera, and Joohyun was struck how beautiful she was all made up. While it was evident normally, Joy’s handiwork enhanced the curves of her lips and the soft pink of her cheeks. Joohyun swallowed.

“Not really. It simply isn’t… every day you find out your friend is one of the most famous idols in the country.”

“I guess that’s pretty unusual, huh?” Wendy chuckled before looking away from the camera. “I mean, more seriously, I guess I have to ask you to not share my phone number, or any screenshots of any of our conversations or any personal info.”

Joohyun’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t even thought about that.”

“People will pay just for flight information. It’s… a real danger for me, honestly.”

It was the second time reality hit her. Joohyun had seen the news stories of idols getting stalked before, but never imagined it’d ever be relevant to her life. The moment Wendy had scribbled down her number months ago, she had placed an enormous amount of trust placed in her and Seulgi.

“I understand,” she said as emphatically as she could.

Wendy’s face brightened. “I didn’t think it’d be a problem, but… you know. Better safe than sorry.” Joohyun nodded. “So how are things there?”

“The usual. School, work. Getting one of the biggest shocks of my life.” She shrugged nonchalantly, succeeding in getting the laugh she wanted.

“The usual,” Wendy echoed. “I… What time is it?” Joohyun watched her swivel her head around before frowning. “I really can’t hide out here any longer, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s my poor timing. Hey Wendy?”

“Yeah?”

“Good luck. I hope it goes well.”

“Thanks. There’ll probably be a video up tomorrow. Usually there’s a few online, if, you know. You wanna see…” Wendy trailed off, peering at the camera with furrowed brows.

“Of course.”

The worried look faded away. “Well, have a good evening, alright? I- oh sh… Whoops, I gotta go! Bye!”

Joohyun barely had time to squeak out a response before the connection was cut.

She turned off her phone screen, slumping down into her chair. For a moment, she simply stared blankly out the window in front of her. Without her input, her life had suddenly become the plot of a drama. Or more like a comedy, if she were being honest.

Joohyun: I told Wendy that we know

Kkang Sseul 🧡: oh good

Kkang Sseul 🧡: i texted earlier, but didn’t get a response :(

Joohyun: She’s about to go on stage, is why

Kkang Sseul 🧡: makes sense if she flew out yesterday. i’ll just text her good luck (:

Joohyun: She said to not share any of her personal info

Kkang Sseul 🧡: oh yeah. Np

Kkang Sseul 🧡: sounds like it went ok though!

Joohyun: She didn’t seem upset about it. I don’t think so, anyways

Kkang Sseul 🧡: i’m sure wendy wouldn’t be upset

Kkang Sseul 🧡: it’s kindaaaaa her fault :p

Kkang Sseul 🧡: anyways, i’m headed out for dinner with Sunmi

Kkang Sseul 🧡: catch ya later

Joohyun: Have fun

Seulgi seemed at complete ease with the situation after a night to let it sink in. Joohyun wished she could say the same for herself.

She stood up with a stretch. Really, when she thought about it, it was an adjustment, but didn’t really change much. She still had dance practice in the morning, and work in the evening. Wendy would still be slow to respond to texts as always. She would just also take a moment tomorrow to look up the concert and see if Wendy was right and someone uploaded a video.

Joohyun exhaled. It would be the same old thing tomorrow as it was yesterday. Just like always.

* * *

(credit for the picture I edited to hell [@wenever](https://twitter.com/wenever940221) )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to update here as well as on aff, so two chapters in two days. c:


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